Social Media and Loneliness

Social Media and Loneliness

It is important to understand social media plays a vital part in connecting human beings as well as developing correlations with influencers as well as journalists. Additionally, social media takes part in offering a considerable opportunity to develop customer service by gathering input, answering questions, as well as listening to their feedbacks. Precisely, social media pertains to connecting with other individuals. However, a new research depicts that too much social media contributes to not only loneliness but also disconnection. In spite of the fact that social media has become a mainstream medium, studies indicate Internet utilization is connected with mitigated social networks as well as heightened loneliness. Some scholars maintain that the use of social media leads to negative effects on people’s relationships that replace face-to-face contacts. Specifically, this contributes to increased los of depth that is vital as compared to breadth for psychological well-being, which in turn results in heightened loneliness. Current research shows that individuals who use social media and have many online friends are lonelier as compared to those who do not.

The use of virtual social networks substitute real life social connections as well as contributes to loneliness while relieving loneliness feelings. The prevalent study plays a critical role in evaluating the relationship existing between the level of social connections in the real world as well as the utilization level of social media such as Facebook. Research indicates that individuals with medium levels of social engagement or even high degrees intend to employ social networking less. Specifically, the people with high levels of social connection but lack the interest to interact with other individuals face to face explain this. It is important to understand that human beings are social as well as emotional beings and this implies that their DNA that they get connected face to face with other individuals. However, people think being on social media all the time makes them connected to other human beings they are disconnected because more time they spend on social media, the less they interact with others face to face.

Some scholars maintain that part of the challenge of loneliness is that a considerable number of individuals who utilize social media are just posting as well as updating. In this case, they spend a substantial amount of time looking at everyone’s posts. Therefore, the constant exposure to each individual’s life experiences contributes to feelings of being left out as well as being lonely. Research argues that the only way to overcome this is by resisting the temptation of looking at everyone else’s life. People are advised to concentrate on their life and what they want to accomplish in this world. Individuals need to develop meaningful relationships by reflecting on what they get out of their virtual relationships. On the same note, they should reflect on the way social media help achieve real relationships. Precisely, people should determine a considerable balance that plays a vital role in encouraging them to prioritize meaningful correlations that last for over short-term connections.

It is evident that social media is an incredible enabler. Specifically, it plays a vital role in helping people make contact with long-lost friends, follow both political and social cases, as well as people share their factors of experience with family and friends in one post or even photo. Nevertheless, this makes relationships in the real world complex. It takes some energy, time, as well as vulnerability to establish and grow real relationships. Individuals assume that being connected to others implies they will not experience loneliness. Nonetheless, if people’s fundamental way of living is via smart phones, they risk never reaching out. In particular, they end up living in a bubble as well as forgetting to experience real life. In case one finds that he or she is spending considerable time in social media as compared to real life, he or she should put down his or her device.

Studies indicate that social media is connected to loneliness due to various reasons. It is clear that social media foster loneliness in different ways. To begin with, the ease of accessibility of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook cause people to connect more in the digital realm; however, disconnect from the world around them. Additionally, distractions from a bussing phone cause people to experience a decline of present enjoyment. For instance, in case an individual is not at gathering as well as impulsively grabbing his or her phone as one feels the notification vibration, the brief moment contributes to a feeling of disconnection with other people present at the gathering. The fear of missing out causes individuals to check for updates in their devices. Specifically, the persistence requirement to log-in inhibits users’ capability to relax as well as replenish. It is noteworthy that lack of adequate rest leads to individuals becoming susceptible to mental health risks.

People try to be glued to their devices to get rid of feeling unaware of current activities as well as feel disconnected from other individuals. On the same note, it is possible for people to experience unwanted or unnecessary updates that contribute to feelings of isolation. For instance, in case a person finds a picture of their overs gathered for an event where he or she did not receive invitation, exclusion feeling is triggered. In addition, exposure to idealized aspects on social media can contribute to elicit envy. Therefore, falling prey to social comparison, people who are content can come up with a sense of dissatisfaction by labeling himself or herself as less successful, adventurous, or happy. People who use Facebook and Twitter go out of their way to look for validation as well as to show a perfect profile. In particular, these people are likely to suffer from low-esteem as well as be less trusting of other individuals. In case a person is concentrated on mitigating their concerns as well as flaws, they might lack the capability to relate to other human beings about actual life experiences. Additionally, their own knowledge of their changed reality could lead someone to feel fraudulent as well as disconnected.

It is evident that cyberbullying such as sharing private or humiliating information, threatening messages, or social exclusion is a common cause for establishing loneliness. Because of aggression taking place online instead of in-person, individuals tend to underestimate the negative effect of cyberbullying. Studies show that cyberbullying is common in teens using social media more than two hours a day. It is noteworthy that digital self-harm in which human beings share mean things or even information anonymously concerning themselves online is gaining considerable attention. Notably, individuals who involve in self-inflicted digital pain might use it as a desperate attempt to connect with other individuals who will join on the bullying procedure.

Some research show that people who are lonely tend to turn to the digital realm to quell their feelings of isolation. In particular, the aforementioned longing contributes people who are lonely to be come up with a need to be more connected to their devices. Additionally, people who are not experiencing loneliness might experience a sense of isolation because of the amount as well as quality of their social media experiences. It is important to comprehend that a relationship does not highlight a cause. Correlations existing between social media as well as loneliness are highlighted in literature and many people might label social media as the culprit. Nonetheless, it is vital to recognize that for various individuals, social media is regarded a powerful catalyst in combating loneliness. For example, for individuals who experience loneliness because of social media, other aspects such as trust, sadness, as well as self-esteem might be crucial fundamental aspects that warrant consideration. In simple terms, it is evident that social media contributes to loneliness in one way or the other.